{"id":1090030,"date":"2021-12-06T13:28:36","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T18:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1090030"},"modified":"2021-12-06T13:28:38","modified_gmt":"2021-12-06T18:28:38","slug":"china-complains-u-s-democracy-has-too-many-checks-and-balances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-complains-u-s-democracy-has-too-many-checks-and-balances\/","title":{"rendered":"China Complains: U.S. Democracy Has &#039;Too Many Checks and Balances&#039;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchina-complains-u-s-democracy-has-too-many-checks-and-balances%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1090030&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">The Chinese Foreign Ministry published a \u201creport\u201d Sunday&nbsp;announcing the death of American democracy at the hands of wealth, racism, and \u201ctoo many checks and balances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>China, one of the world\u2019s most repressive regimes and its most prodigious human rights abuser, has been using its government media arms for the past month to complain that President Joe Biden did not invite the country to its upcoming \u201cSummit for Democracy,\u201d a digital event in which the State Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/summit-for-democracy\/\">claims<\/a> world leaders will discuss \u201can affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats faced by democracies today through collective action.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Instead of inviting China, which the Biden administration has formally accused of genocide over the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people, the State Department invited representatives from the sovereign nation of Taiwan. The U.S. does not formally recognize Taiwan as a country because the Chinese Communist Party falsely insists it is a rogue \u201cprovince\u201d under Beijing\u2019s control.<\/p>\n<p>While complaining about Taiwan\u2019s participation, communist regime outlets such as the&nbsp;<em>Global Times<\/em> have expressed more outrage that the U.S. excluded China, and fellow autocracy Russia, from its list of democratic invitees.<\/p>\n<p>The Foreign Ministry published \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-12-05\/Full-text-The-State-of-Democracy-in-the-United-States-15KvzAK2xNe\/index.html\">The State of Democracy in the United States<\/a>,\u201d a 30-page tirade about freedom in America, in part to discourage the rest of the world from admiring the American political system. While the paper lists Beijing\u2019s usual gripes about the United States \u2013 alleged rampant racism, wealth inequality, and the promotion of free societies abroad \u2013 it added a new complaint to the list: checks and balances.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>The \u201cchecks and balances\u201d system distributes power at the highest levels of American government in a way that, in theory, makes it impossible for one person or institution to control the country. The judicial, legislative, and executive branches can all \u201ccheck\u201d each other when one of the branches attempts to abuse its power.<\/p>\n<p>In China, the Communist Party is the only institution with power. The Politburo and its dictatorial leader, Xi Jinping, hoard unlimited power used to abuse, disappear, or otherwise subdue any dissenting voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe U.S. political system has far too many checks and balances, raising the cost of collective action and in some cases making it impossible altogether,\u201d the Chinese Foreign Ministry report read. The propaganda report cites <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2018\/09\/03\/francis-fukuyama-postpones-the-end-of-history\">failed<\/a> theorist Francis Fukuyama as the alleged originator of this complaint.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmerican political scientist Francis Fukuyama points out in his book Political Order and Political Decay that there is an entrenched political paralysis in the US. Fukuyama calls the system a \u2018vetocracy,&#8217;\u201d the report continued. \u201cSince the 1980s, the \u2018vetocracy\u2019 of the US has become a formula for gridlock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The report then went on to misuse the term \u201cveto\u201d \u2013 a power the president can use to block legislation \u2013 claiming that the American federal government has many \u201cindividual veto players\u201d who can single-handedly prevent the entire government from functioning:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_19019466\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"33\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/e1f7795d-b4b5-453f-8a9b-3a8f34993e8e.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19019466 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/e1f7795d-b4b5-453f-8a9b-3a8f34993e8e.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese propaganda from the Global Times: &quot;The US-styled democracy fraught with deep-seated problems Graphics: Deng Zijun\/GT&quot;\" width=\"600\" height=\"360\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Chinese propaganda newspaper Global Times published the accompanying \u201cinfographic\u201d (Deng Zijun\/GT)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe function of \u2018checks and balances,\u2019 which was purportedly designed to prevent abuse of power, has been distorted in American political practice,\u201d the report claimed. \u201cVetoing makes one identify more strongly with their peers in the same camp, who may in turn give them greater and quicker support. Consequently the two parties are caught in a vicious circle, addicted to vetoing.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>The report does not explain who it is accusing of constantly vetoing policy, nor does it at any moment explain that only the president has veto power. Presidents exercise this power rarely. In the past <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/vetoes\/vetoCounts.htm\">30 years<\/a>, President Donald Trump used his regular veto power ten times, Barack Obama and George W. Bush both issued 12 vetoes, and Bill Clinton issued a significantly higher number at 36.<\/p>\n<p>The use of veto power in the country has declined significantly. Franklin Roosevelt, the longest-serving president, issued 372 regular vetoes. Grover Cleveland issued 304; Harry Truman issued 180.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, the Chinese Foreign Ministry report repeatedly uses the case of George Floyd, a Minnesota man who died in police custody in 2020, as proof of eroding democratic governance, even as it admits that the incident prompted protests without government intervention in \u201cabout 100 cities across the 50 states of America.\u201d It also cites the events of January 6, 2021, also the product of a public assembly that would have ended with severe police repression in China, as proof that America is not a democracy.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_13772562\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/rioters-looters-blm-getty.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13772562\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/rioters-looters-blm-getty.jpg\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">SAMUEL CORUM\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>More minor evidence of alleged democratic erosion listed include the entirety of the U.S. media, elections, the use of money to support politicians, the coronavirus pandemic that China caused, and U.S. social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, which the Chinese regime bans citizens from accessing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether a country is democratic should be judged and determined by its own people, not by a minority of self-righteous outsiders,\u201d the report concluded.<\/p>\n<p>The&nbsp;<em>Global Times<\/em>, a Chinese government propaganda outlet, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202112\/1240716.shtml\">praised<\/a> the report for helping \u201ccrush the \u2018halo\u2019 of the so-called \u2018a beacon for democracy&#8217;\u201d [sic] on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChina\u2019s recent actions also help the international community to clear the clouds and show what true democracy is. As the beacon of US democracy is dimming, the democratic practices in China are dazzling with brilliance,\u201d the&nbsp;<em>Global Times<\/em> claimed, citing \u201cexperts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Frances Martel on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francesimartel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francesimartel\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1638873290778000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1QA08tmz68EbJcjtJNaG7N\">Facebook<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/francesmartel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/twitter.com\/francesmartel&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1638873290778000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2AlYai6qFSxqn18JB8Jmej\">Twitter<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Chinese Foreign Ministry published a \u201creport\u201d Sunday\u00a0announcing the death of American democracy at the hands of wealth, racism, and \u201ctoo many checks and balances.\u201d China, one of the world\u2019s &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1090030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1090030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1090030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1090030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1090030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}